MotoGP: Ducati Manager Speaks GP11

On Tuesday at the Wrooom event in Italy, the Ducati MotoGP Team unveiled Valentino Rossi in red for the first time.

Then on Wednesday, the Ducati GP11 motorcycles of Rossi and Nicky Hayden were presented to the public for the first time in their 2011 MotoGP livery.

The Desmosedici GP11 motorcycles are all the rage now in the MotoGP world, and on Thursday, Vittoriano Guareschi, team manager and test rider for Ducati, spoke about the machines.

In the following MotoGP interview, Guareschi details the major changes to the Ducati prototypes that Rossi and Hayden will contest on in 2011.

Vittoriano Guareschi (Ducati Team) says: "We have a different fairing with a new cut to improve drag, and different winglets which are wider than in 2010. We developed this fairing because we want less drag and more down force.

"The 2011 engine has more torque, more revs, and is much better than 2010. It’s easier to understand coming out of the corner. We worked on corner exit because we wanted more acceleration and more of a connection with the tyre, which is important for the riders. It will be necessary to work more, but this is a good start for 2011."

Expanding on the aerodynamic aspect of the bike, Guareschi added: "At the moment we haven’t been in the wind tunnel with Valentino, but we have a programme to test this with him. Obviously if the results aren’t great that’s something we will work on."

On Wednesday Filippo Preziosi told MotoGP that the team would be testing the prototype further at Jerez for three days, starting on Monday (Jan. 17), and Guareschi added some more details to what the Ducati crew will be focusing on.

Fillippo Preziosi says: "We have two lines of work in our programme for the Test; Franco (Battaini, Test rider) will focus on electronics, and I will concentrate on improving the setting and the chassis. We just hope for good weather conditions!"

Asked about the impact of Rossi’s recovering shoulder on the progress of the bike’s development, and with the first Official Test of 2011 getting underway in Malaysia on February 1st, Guareschi concluded: "We want him in good condition of course. When he is 100 percent we will start to modify the bike, but we want him in good condition before that."

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